News

A Western Slope coalition has been working to buy the $99 million water rights at Shoshone Power Plant for years. They thought they had the money in 2025 — then it was frozen.

In a major win for the Western Slope, the Trump administration released $40 million in funding for the purchase of powerful historic water rights on the Colorado River tied to the Shoshone Power Plant.

The Colorado River Water Conservation District, which spans 15 counties in western Colorado, has been leading the charge since 2023 to purchase the water rights from the hydropower facility’s owner, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, for $99 million. In early 2025, it seemed like they’d soon be ready to write the check when the federal government granted $40 million toward the purchase during former President Joe Biden’s final hours in office.

Days later, the Trump administration froze the funding, pending review to ensure the grant aligned with the incoming president’s policy priorities. The release of the funds a year and a half later marks a significant step forward in the water rights acquisition, which will still take years to complete.

The Colorado River District thanked the state’s congressional delegation and its local coalition for their support.

“By advocating for the Shoshone Water Rights Project in Colorado and Washington, they helped deliver a durable and permanent solution for the entire Colorado River system,” Andy Mueller, the Colorado River District’s general manager, said in the news release.

Western Slope communities want to preserve the way these water rights have historically functioned so water supplies will be more certain and predictable long into the future.

For over a century, the Shoshone water rights have shaped how water flows through the Colorado River and its tributaries, influencing its delivery to Front Range and Western Slope water users.

The power plant, located off Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon, has some of the largest, oldest water rights directly on the Colorado River in Colorado. Under water law, this seniority means Shoshone gets its full water supply even in times of shortage.

Because the power plant can demand water year-round, and because it returns all of the water it uses to the river, Shoshone has major benefits for the environment and water users farther downstream. Farmers, ranchers and recreation outfitters can make business decisions with more certainty. The reliable flows protect critical habitat areas for endangered fish species. Downstream cities have better water quality.

Water watchers in western Colorado have worried for years about what would happen to the water rights if the aging facility was shuttered, or if another entity bought the rights and decided to change how, and where, the water flowed.

So they launched the Shoshone permanency project, a yearslong effort that attracted a broad array of supporters and continues to tackle bureaucratic hurdles and opposition from big players in Front Range water.

The Colorado River District and its partners finalized a purchase agreement with Xcel Energy in late 2023 to buy the water rights. But the deal came with fine print.

Under the agreement, the Colorado River District will own the water rights and lease them back to Xcel so the facility can continue to generate hydroelectric power.

The river district also wants to keep Shoshone’s water in the river — not diverted to other uses — whenever the power plant is not generating hydropower. To make that change, the Colorado River District needed approval from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which it gained in late 2025.